Squadron Leader Mandepanda Appachu Ganapathy was a fighter pilot and officer of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

, known for his involvement in the Aerial Battle of Boyra during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He was awarded the

Vir Chakra The Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋ iː ɾ a tʃ a kɾa, ) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of gallantry on the battlefield, on land or in the air or at sea. It is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and ...

for shooting down a PAF Sabre in the above-mentioned aerial battle

Career

Ganapathy was commissioned as an officer in the Indian Air force on 16 May 1965 after graduating from the class of 92 Course. Five years later as war broke out between India and Pakistan, Ganapathy was posted with 22 Squadron IAF at the Dum Dum Airfield in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. On the 22nd of November 1971, Canadair Sabres Mk6s of the PAF took up ground attack operations against Indian and

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

troop positions near the town of Garibpur during the

Battle of Garibpur The Battle of Garibpur was fought between the Indian forces and Pakistani forces for the control of the village of Garibpur, now in Bangladesh. On 20 November 1971, Indian troops of the 14th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment with 14 supporting ...

.A formation of four

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic aircraft, subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical comb ...

s led by Flt Lt Roy Andrew Massey took off from the Dum Dum airfield to intercept the Sabres. Ganapathy, then a Flight Lieutenant, was the second man in the formation. On reaching the battle area, the Gnats spotted the three Sabres performing ground attack operations. In the dogfight that ensued Ganapathy shot down a Sabre piloted by Fg Offr Khail Ahmad. Ganapathy's wingman Fg Offr Donald Lazarus shot down Flt Lt

Pervaiz Mehdi Qureshi Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi (born 1 October 1943) best known as PQ Mehdi, is a retired four-star air officer and former fighter pilot who served as the eighth Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Pakistan Air Force from 1997 until his retirement in 2000 ...

, who would later on become the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistani Air Force. The formation leader, Andrew Massey severely damaged Wg Cdr Afzal Chouwdary's Sabre. All three pilots were awarded the

for this feat. This aerial battle is significant as it was the first engagement between the Air Forces of India and Pakistan during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

in 1971 and also the first aerial victories of the war. Ganapathy was later promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader, unfortunately he died in the 1970s under mysterious circumstances by committing suicide,possibly due to personal setbacks

Vir Chakra

The citation for the

awarded to him reads:

CITATION (Flight Lieutenant Mandepanda Appachu Ganapathy)

On 22 November 1971, at about 1450 hours order was given to intercept four Pakistani aircraft which had intruded into our territory. Flight Lieutenant Mandepanda Appachu Ganapathy who was detailed to fly as No. 3 in a formation of 4 Gnat aircraft proceeded to intercept the enemy. On sighting the enemy aircraft, he skillfully maneuvered his section and got behind one Sabre Jet and shot it down. In this action, Flight Lieutenant Mandepanda Appachu Ganapathy displayed gallantry, professional skill and devotion to duty of a high order.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganapathy, M. A. Indian Air Force officers Indian military aviators Pilots of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Kodava people Indian military personnel of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 People from Kodagu district Recipients of the Vir Chakra

Career

Vir Chakra

See also

References